We’re three weeks into the season and we’ve already made enough ice to start running our track vehicles! We are currently fishing in six different areas on Lake of the Woods, with our sights on at least three more locations.

The Twin Islands is where I call home for the winter months. This region of the lake is where I grew up fishing and is just around the point from where I live now. Currently, I have the Twin Island shacks set up in 26-31 feet of water. This area is producing solid limits of walleyes and saugers with a few perch mixed in. As for trophy fish, I’ve witnessed two walleyes over 28 inches and a 50 inch sturgeon just last week.

My favorite lure is always a Buckshot Spoon jigged vigorously off the bottom. This presentation is deadly for catching aggressive walleyes and always attracts attention on the days when the bite is more subtle.

Another one of my favorite tactics is to attach an emerald shiner tail to the back of a Jigging Rap. The key to this presentation is to make sure the shiner tail is on straight and life-like. My favorite color for a Jigging Rap is the perch color. I’m also starting to warm up to the Dirty Bomb lure. There is never a day on the ice that I don’t see a blinking light on a customer’s line. ~ Captain Steve